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10 Ways to creating meaningful family moments

Friday, 07 September 2018 00:00

Meaningful family moments

When the whole family is involved in planning fun activities, you'll have more opportunities to experience special moments. "Family glue" are those moments that connect your family and build deep, healthy relationships. Spending time together as a family takes planning, but it's a good investment. When children feel close to their parents, they try harder to please them and make them proud, which then makes the whole family stronger. It doesn't have to be complicated -- with a little bit of effort, you can turn bonding into a lifetime of funny, sweet stories and lasting memories.

1. Conduct Family Interviews

Members of your family's older generations, like grandparents, great-aunts, and great-uncles, have many fascinating stories of growing up in different eras. Have your kids ask them what life was like in yesteryear and use a tape, digital, or video recorder to capture their tales, voices, and expressions. Then turn the microphone around and encourage older family members to take turns interviewing someone, including the kids. By collecting personal anecdotes and memories, you'll have a time capsule of family history. As kids learn about their heritage, they can start thinking about their own legacies. Transcribe the interviews to create a book or a CD of photos for a slide show to accompany the interviews.

I write this from the aspect of a woman who is a daughter. I write this from the point of view of a woman who has a step-daughter that came into my life when she was 7 years old. I write this from the stance of a woman who wants to have a daughter some day. I write this from the aspect of a woman who wants to see some change in the way little girls, and women, view themselves in society.

A girl needs:

1. To be told she’s beautiful – every day. When she’s wearing her fanciest dress and her dirtiest jeans and tennis shoes. Tell her she’s beautiful, but then make her understand that she is so much more than that. That her beauty is only evident on the outside because of who she is on the inside.

2. To play make-believe – Barbie’s and princesses and ponies. Let her stretch her imagination as far as it will go. Let her dream of far off castles and unicorns and princes.

3. To know her self-worth – Show her that her worth is not in her body. Show her that she is so much more than what people see at first glance. Teach her that she should be smart, kind, someone worth knowing. Teach her to dig deep to find out who she is and who she wants to be.